Taylor Swift Puts Her ‘Reputation’ On The Line, Fans React To The Singer’s Bizarre Rebrand

Taylor Swift seems to be going through an emo phase. The previously perky pop star debuted her dark new image with the surprise release of a new song, “Look What You Made Me Do.” And fan reaction to Taylor’s new image was decidedly mixed as it became apparent that the old Taylor Swift is dead.

Not only does Swift sound different, but she looks different, too. Taylor Swift’s website now features snake-inspired merch as well as hoodies with gothic lettering and two versions of gold and silver-plated zircon crystal snake rings. A merch purchase earns fans a closer step to concert tickets through the Taylor Swift Tix program, which is committed to cutting scalpers out of the ticket game, according to Billboard.

“Look What You Made Me Do,” Swift’s first new song in three years, will be the lead single from her upcoming sixth studio album, Reputation, which is set for release on November 10. But some fans are scratching their heads wondering why she did it. While some Swifties defended the song, others swiftly took to social media to blast the single and Taylor’s new look.

Speaking of social media, ahead of the release of “Look What You Made Me Do,” Taylor Swift scrubbed her Instagram clean, deleting all traces of her former persona and replacing them with snake videos and promos for her new album and single.

Taylor captioned an edgy photo of herself with the cryptic announcement, “There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation.”

Huh?

For over a decade, Taylor Swift serenaded her fans with songs about fairy tale romances and white horses, with the occasional empowering tune like “Shake It Off.” Her most “vicious” song in the past was along the lines of “Bad Blood,” which really wasn’t all that vicious. But Swift’s new dark turn, which comes after a year that saw her publicly humiliated by the Kardashian-Wests and at the center of a groping lawsuit, proclaims the “old Taylor” to be dead. Now, some fans are now mourning the loss of the former piano-playing pop princess.

“Look What You Made Me Do” was written by Taylor Swift, fun alum Jack Antonoff, and several members of the 90s British pop band Right Said Fred (“I’m Too Sexy”).

Taylor Swift will premiere the official music video for the song at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, August 27. You can check out Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” lyric video below.